Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I attended a briefing on the recently published Deloitte report commissioned by University Hospital Limerick, UHL. Deloitte fulfilled the task it was given. It set out figures and predictions on patient flow and the requirement for 300 new and replacement beds up to 2036. I wholeheartedly welcome today's event, with the turning of the sod for a new 96-bed block in Limerick. This is long overdue but will take time to install and commission. In the meantime, University Hospital Limerick is in crisis. The chaos must be brought under control. Patient safety is already undermined. This serious and dangerous situation must be addressed as a matter of urgency. The emergency department in Limerick is dysfunctional. We have delayed admission followed by delayed action and intervention, a lack of co-ordination within the hospital, a lack of internal communication and a lack of information for worried family members. There is a general air of confusion. This is leading to demonstrable neglect of patients.

To leave patients in pain, waiting for hours on end on chairs and trolleys, is degrading, insulting and, obviously, dangerous. I have received numerous accounts of sick people from north Tipperary not being treated with dignity and respect. I hear disturbing stories about patients who have not received proper care and attention. It is inevitable that litigation against the hospital is increasing. Staff at the hospital are committed and diligent. They have become overwhelmed in this chaos. They are helpless.

UHL has a serious problem with bed capacity, staffing levels and management structures. Some months ago, I informed the Taoiseach in this House that these problems would not be resolved unless a dedicated team of professionals was deployed to Limerick. The Taoiseach agreed to my request. I understand their work is completed. Will their recommendations be made public? That group must have the freedom to insist on and implement organisational changes. Further special funding must be allocated to the hospital for a sufficient bed complement with enhanced staffing levels.

The immediate crisis cannot be ignored. UHL serves a population of 400,000 people from across north Tipperary, Limerick and Clare. The hospital cannot cope with the numbers depending on the emergency department or the hospital itself. Admissions are restricted. Ambulances are left idling outside the hospital as paramedics have nowhere to take their patients when they arrive. Staff at UHL are under unbearable pressure. They are stressed, careworn and exhausted. Ambulance personnel have told me that patients are telling them that there are aware of the serious problems and delays in Limerick and are asking to be taken to an alternative hospital. This is an appalling indictment of the service currently being delivered at that hospital.

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